Operating mechanism for mine doors



Feb. 25, 1930. J GURNEY 1,748,447

wmwme mscnmrsu realism nouns fl izi Filed y 1-5,. 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 lllllllll" awe/144 c:

A .J. Gu u/e Feb.- 25, 1930. GURNEY 1,748,447

OPERATING MECHANISM FOR NINE DOORS r n l Fil m y 13. 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 A J- Gui/rite Feb. 25, 1930. GURNEY 1,748,447

OPERATING MECHANIM FOR MINE DOORS Original Filed May 13, 1925 4..Sheets-Sheet s Feb. 25,- 1930. J, GURNEY 1,748,447

OPERATING MECHANISM FOR MINE DOORS Original Filed y 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Pa tent ecl Feb. 5, 1930 i;tour!" D T T P E OFFICE ALBERT J. GURNEY,

OF CANTON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE AMERIOANMINE DOOR (30., F CANTON, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO OPERATJ'INVG MECHANISM non MINE noons Original applicationfiled Ma 13, 1925,

of the Wings tending to move to closed positi'oniwill bepartially counteracted, so that the wings may be readily held open.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel mechanism including a counterweight forclosing the Wings and also including springs acting directly on the wings, and

' wherein the effectiveness of the counterweight will be decreased as the effectiveness of said springs isincreased and vice-versa, so that practically uniform tension will be exerted on thewings tending to urge the wings .to closed position. v

And the invention seeks, as a still further object, to provide an improved mounting for V the free end of the'door operatin'g trip lever tion.

employed, andwherein said end of the lever may be adjustably elevatedjor lowered.

Otherobjects of the invention not specifically mentioned in the foregoing will appear during the course of the following descrip- In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a horizontal sectional view taken through a mine door as disclosed in my prior application previously identified..-

v Figure 2 is a-detail elevation showing one of the door closing springs.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view showing the position ofthe parts when the door wings are swung to open p0 sitionfl Figure 4 is a fragmentary elevation particularly showing one of the door closing levers.

i Figure 5 is afragmentary plan view showing the "operating'mechanism in connection Serial No. 30,078. Divided and this 1925. Serial N0. 70,933.

door structure.

application filed November 23,

with a minetrack, this View also showing the location of the mine door.

Figure 6 is a detail sectional view on the line 66 of Figure 5, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Figure 7 is a detail perspective View particularly showing the counterweight andassociated parts. a I

Figure 8 is a detail sectional view on the line 88 of Figure 5,looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

F igurez9-is a detail perspective view particularly showing the bed plate and associated parts employedat the free end of the trip lever of the operating mechanism. I

v Figure 10'is a detail perspective view showing one of the clamping jaws employed in connecting the plate with the adjacent rail of the track.

Figure'll is a-perspective View showing the companion clamping jaw employed.

Referring now more particularly to the draw1ngs, I shall, in. order that the function and operation of the present mechanism may be better understood, first describe the However, since the door shown in the Jresent instance is identical with thedoor isclosed in-my prior applica- 13 overlapping at'their outer vertical margins,

and connected with said wings at their innervertical margins are lower hub plates 14 havin arms 15 which, project laterally at one side of the door. Extending between said arms beneath the mine track, is a connecting .rod 16 coupling the wings to simultaneously swing in opposite directions.

Coming now more particularly to the sub ject of the 'present invention, I employ, as

seen in Figure 1, a pair of angle-shaped brackets 17 which are fixed to opposite cordoor frame at the lower ends of said posts,

responding corners of the side posts of the 'tweenthe arms 18 of the brackets'and extending through the hubs and through the arms are pivot pins 21. Y Formed on the hub plates 14 of the door wings are .arms 22 whichextend at opposite sides of the door, and connecting the inner ends of the levers 19 with the free ends of said arms are links 23. As

shown in Figure 1, the'outer ends of the levers are curved toward the side posts of the door frame while the inner ends of the levers, as shown in Figure 4, are offset with'respect to the outer ends of the levers to lie in a plane with the arms 22.

Attention is'now directed to the fact that when the wings13 are closed, as shown in Figure 1, the innerends of the levers 19 stand substantially parallel to the arms 22 of the hub plates 14 of the door wings and, as

will be seen, when the levers are swung, so that the inner ends thereof travel toward the wings, the wings will, as suggested in Figure 3, be swunginl opposite directions to open position. 'Asthe wings arethus swung open, the levers 19 and the links 23 are swung to: ward an alined position so that when the wings are fully open, the links and levers occupy .a relation close to dead center. Thus, a portion of the thrust of the wings tending to swing closed will be counteracted by the approximate dead center relation 'ofthe links and levers so that the wings maybe readily held open while strain upon the mechanism connected with the levers will be relieved. Furthermore, the speed of the opening travel of the wings will, as will be seen, be gradually reduced as the wings approach the end of their openingtra-vel ,so that banging'of the wings against the bumpers 12will be prevented. :1 t

Formed on the outer ends of the levers 19, as particuarly shown in Figure 2, are upstanding arms 24 directed laterally overthe upper ends of the hubs of said levers, and fixed to said arms are upstanding'centering studs or posts 25 axially alined with the hubs.

Fixed to the side posts of the door frame 10 above-the brackets 17 are bracket plates 26 and projecting from each of saidplates is a pair of arms 27-. Journaled} between said pairs of arms are ratchets28 grooved to accommodate said. arms and extending between the free ends of the arms arebolts 29 re taining the ratchets. Formed on thelower site flange of the bar.

arms-24 while the upper ends of said springs r are pawls 33 for locking the ratchets against retrograde movement, and-formed inthe upper end portions of the ratchets are circumferentially spaced openings 34- to selectively.

receive'a pm, as suggested in dotted lines at 35. Thus, the ratchets may be conveniently turned foradjustably tensioning the springs 32 so that the springs will accordingly function to urge the wings 13 to closed position.

As will be seen, the studs 25 and engage the ends of the springs only while'the intermediate portions of the springs are free. Friction is thus reduced to a minimum.

Duplicated at opposite sides of the door is the mechanism for operating the levers '19; A description of the mechanism atone side of the door only will, therefore, sufiice for both; Secured to appropriately spaced ties of the mine'track, near corresponding ends.

of said ties, as seen in detail in Figures 6 and 701 the drawings, are pairs of spaced brackets 36, the innermostof which are provided with lateral slotted ears 37. Corresponding ears of the brackets project beneath the base flange of the adjacent track rail,:and

overlying said flange are clamping plates 38 abutting the brackets. Extending through the plates and through said ears are bolts 39 securing the bracketsto the rail; Pivoted upon each pair of brackets is a pair of sleeves 40, the innermost of which are provided with laterally directed arms 41, and fitting through each pair of sleeves is a squared shaft 42 secured by set bolts 43. Pivotally connected to the arms 41 of the, innermostsleeves -are links 44, and swingingly supported by said links is a channel-shaped operating bar 45 lying near the inner side of the adjacent track rail. As shown in Figure 5, the bar 45 is formed of pivotally connected sections, the V outermost of which provides a trip lever 46 which is inclined longitudinally and, as will be observed, the flange of the bar adjacent the rail is preferably shorter than the oppo- 7 Disposed between the adjacent ties of the track beneath the outer end portion of the lever 46,: as bestseen in Figures 8 and 9 0t the drawings, is a channel-shaped bed plate 47 provided at itsinner end with lateral wings 48 resting'upon said ties and secured thereto.

This jaw is provided the arms '50 at theirinner sides are hooks 52 r to embrace the loweredges of the side flanges of the bed plate 47 and formed on the lower ends of said'arms are pairs otears 53. Go-

' jaw members 54, shown-in detail in Figure 11 ofthe drawings. These jaw members are arranged to extend at opposite'sides of the bed plate 47 at the inner side of therail and are formed at their upper ends with heads 55 jtohe'ngage over the base flange of the rail.

Proje'cting'from the inner sides of said jaw members are'hooks 56 to embrace the lower edges of the side flanges of the bed plate and, as brouglitout in Figure '8, the lower ends of the jaw members are formed to fit between the pairs of ears53 at the lower ends of the arms50 of the jaw'49; Extending through the upper ends of the arms 50 of the jaw 49 and through the upper ends of the jaw members 54;arebolts 57 lying at opposite sides of the'bed'p'late and, as will be seen, when these bolts are tightened, thelower ends ofthe arms 56 an'dthe lower ends of the jaw members 54;,w-ill rock-against'each other while the'up-' perend of the jaw 49 as well as the upper ends of the jaw members 54 will be swung toward each other. Accordingly, the head 51 of the jaw 49and the heads 55of the jaw members 54 will be caused to bind against the base flange of the rail while the hooks '52 and '56 of said-jaw and the jaw members wi-llbe swung up beneath the lower edges of theside flanges of the bed plate 47 forrigidly clamping the bed plate tothe rail. F rathermore, as will be seen, the construction is such that the jaw and jaw members may be employedfor clamping the bed plate to rails of different" sizes. 1 a

Rising from the inner end of the bed plate i'sja guide flange 58, at the base of which the plate is" provided with an opening 59," and projecting into said opening at opposite endsthereof are V-shaped'ribs extending j transversely of the upper end of said open-' ing. Adjac'ent the opening 59, the plate is formed with'transverse cross'webs or [parti ,;tions 61 and 62between which extends'a bottom wall 63 inclined transversely of the'plate.

I 1 This bottom wall cooperates with said parti- I tions to form a. seat for a bearing block 64 which is snugly received betweenthe partitions and is formed with a beveled end 65 V to rest flat against said bottom wall. Thus,

by shifting'the position of the block along the bottom wall 63 of the seat, the block may be adj ustably elevated or lowered with respect to the bed plate, and formed-on the partition 61' at its inner side are vertical teeth while I the blockis provided with mating teeth 66 to coact with the former teeth for lockingthe Lee.

block in adjusted position. Fixed to the triplever 46 near its free end is a depending retaining post 67 which is freely received through the opening 59 of the bed plate between the-ribs60 so that as the trip lever is rocked said post will pivot against saidribs, and extending from the posttransversely beneath the-'lever a substantially V-shaped the bearing block may be adjusted upon the I bed plate 47, as previously explained, for elevating or loweringthe outer end of the lever. Engaged through the lower end of the post-67 is a key or like device 69 limiting the post against upward displacement and, as will be seen, the flange 58 of the bed plate is disposed to coact with the upper end of the post for bracing the post and holding'the outer end of the lever 46 againstlateral displacement away from the track rail.

Adjustably fixed to the outer end portions of the shafts 42 are upstanding arms 70, and pivotally connected to the upper end of the forwardly disposed arm, as seen in Figure 5,

is aclevis 71 in which slides a cross head 7 Extending from the cross head through the forward end of the clevis is a rod 73 pivotallybetween the forward end of the clevis and the cross head, and pivotally connected to the rear end of the clevis is a rod 75. A similar clevis 7 6 is connected to the rearwardly disposed arm furthest remote from the door, and slidable in said clevis is a cross head 77 to which is connected a rod 78, while a cushioning spring 79 is disposed to bear between the forward end of the clevis and the cross head. Pivotally connected to the upper end of that one of the arms 70 disposed between the forward and rear arms are links 80 to which are attached rods 81, and connecting said rods with the rods and 78 are turnbu'ckles 82. Thus, the arms 70 of the shafts 42 are operatively connected with the lever 19 and, as will now be seen, a car traveling on the track 11 toward the door will first engage and depress the lever 46, when said shafts will be rocked for swinging the door wings 13 to open position. As the car nears so that the door wings cannot close until the The cushioncar has cleared the latter bar. ing springs 74 and 7 9 will, of course, tend to absorb the shock of. the impact of the car wheels with the trip lever 46. I

Adjustably fixed to the outer end ofone of the shafts 42, as particularly shown in Figure 7, is a sleeve 83 on which is formed an angularly disposed socket 84, and fixed at its lower end in said socket is an arm85. Ad

justable .alonggtheiarmgisa counterweight86.

then the operating bar is depressed and the. shafts 42' are rotated for opening. the door, the arm 8.5 will be swung up to a positionclosely approaching the vertical so that the efi ectiveness ofthe counterweight tending to counter-rotate said shafts will be correspondingly reduced- However, as the door wings 13 are swung open by the depression of the operating; bar 45, the tension on. the springs 32will be increased so that the effectiveness of: said springs tending to urge the door wings to closed position will be cor respondmgly increased. On the contrary,

when theoperating bar .45 is released, the arm will swing downwardly toward a iorizontal position so that the effectiveness of the counterweightSS for maintaining the door wings closedwill be correspondingly increased. However, the effectiveness ofthe d-oor,, springs 32 will, due to the lessening of the tensionon said-springs by the closing of the door wings, be correspondingly decreased Thus, the counterweight and door springs Wlll tunctlon 1n con3unct1on with each other to'm'aintain a substantially uniformftension on the door wings tending to urge sald wmgs end of said lever. with one of said wings, the.

-. inner endof the lever being movable toward said wing for opening the wings, and train operated meansconnected to the outer end of said lever forswinging the lever.

2,. In a mine door, mating swingingly mounted door wings, means connecting said wings to swing in unison, an arm movable withtone of said wings, a lever pivotally mounted to swing in a plane with-said wings,

a link connecting the inner end of said lever with said arm, the inner end of the lever being movable towardsaid wing for opening the win s andtrain ooeratedmeans connee-ted with the outer end of said lever for swinging thelever.

"fl-In a minedoor, mating swi'ngingly mounted door wings, means connecting said wings to swing in unison, including a lever for swinging the wings to open position and operable to gradually reduce the rate of open ing movement of the wings as'said wings ap-' proach the end of theirfo pen'ing travel, with- 'I out a reduction therate of travel ofsaid 8. In a mine door, mating lever, and train operated meansconnected with said lever for swinging the lever". 4.111 .a mine door, mating swingingly mounted door wings, means connecting said wings to swingin unison, coacting pivotally connected means for opening said wings'and movable to closely approach a position look ing the wingsjopen, and train operated means,

connected with said last mentioned means for opening the wings.

5. In a mine door, mating swingingly mounted door wings, means connecting said wings to swing in umson, means for opening said wingsincluding a pivoted lever and-con-. necting link movable to closely approachan alined position for maintaining the wings open, and train operated means connected with said lever for swinging the lever.

6. Inj a mine door, mating door. wings,

upper and lower hub plates carried by said wings'and provided with means swingingly mounting the wings, the lower hub plates being provided with long arms and short arms, means extendingbetween-the long arms connecting the wings; to swing in unison, pivotally mounted levers, links connecting the inner ends of the levers with sald short arms, the levers, being movable for swinging thewings to open position, and train operated means connectedwith the, outer ends ofsaid levers for sw nging the levers. v

T. In a mine door, mating swingingly mounted door wings, means connecting said wings to swing in unison, meanstor, opening said wings including a lover, a torsion sprlng.

connected with said lever forurging the wings to closedposition, and train operated means connected with said lever for swinging the lever.

V swingingly.

mounted door wings, means connecting said,

wings to swing in unison,-ineans for opening the w ngs including a ,pivotally mounted lever an arm carried by said lever, a fixed bracket plate, a ratchet carried by said plate, a tors on spring engaged at onejend with said arm a'ndat its opposite end withsaid ratchet for urg-ing the. wings to closed position, the, l

ratchet being adjustable for tensioning said spring,and train operated means connected with said lever for swinging the lever.

9.111 a mine door, mating swingingly mounted; doori wings, means connecting the wings to swing in unison, a torsion spring urging the wings to closed position, train operated mechanism for opening the wings, and a counterweight associated with said operatingh mechanism and functioning in,

conjunction with said spring to maintaina susbtantially uniform tension on the wings,

tending to close said wings.

10. In a mine door, matingswingingly 'mounted door w1ngs,means connecting said wings to swing in unison, "atorsion spring tending to close thewingsand connected with one of said wings whereby the tension of said spring is increased as the wings are opened,

1 train operated mechanism for opening the r wings is decreased as the'tension wings, a lever operableby said mechanism,

, and a counterweight carried by the lever, the

lever being movable toward vertical position as the wings are opened whereby the effectiveness of the counterweight tending to close the of said spring isincreased and vice versa.

11. In a mine door, mating door wings, and

' train operated mechanism for opening the wall and having a side wall provided with teeth, and a bearing block received in said seat 7 to restagainst the inclined wall thereof and providedwith teeth to coact with said first mentioned teeth for locking the block in adusted position along'said wall, the block pivotally supporting the outerv end ofsaid lever and being adjustable for elevating said end of 30 2 r the leve 13. In a mine door, mating door wings,train operated mechanism for opening said wings including a'trip lever, a bed plate disposed beneath a track rail, means carried by the bed plate supporting the outer end of saidlever, coacting jaws fulcruming against each other i at their lower ends and engaging at their .coacting jaws fulcruming against each other 1 at their lower ends and engaging at their upupper ends-over a track rail, the jaws being I provided with means toengage the bed plate,

and means for swinging the jaws toward each other and clamping the plate against the rail. 14. A mine door including mating door wings, and train operatedmechanism for opening said wings including a trip lever, a bed plate disposed beneath a track rail and 4 having side flanges, means carried by said plate supporting the outer end of said lever,

per endsover the base fiangeof said rail, the

' jaws being provided with hooks to engage the said rail.

side flanges ofsaid bed plate, and'bolts ex? tending between the jaws and adjustable for swinging the upperends of the jaws toward each other and binding the. bed plate against 15.111 amine door, mating door wings,

- train operated mechanism for opening said, wings including a trip lever, a bed plate having'an inclined wall and an adjacent wall prosaid first mentioned teeth for locking the block in adjusted position. n

16. In mine door train operated mechanism, a bed plate for supporting'a triplever adjacent a track rail, and coacting jaws fulcrumed upon each other to coact with the rail and said rail.

17. In [mine door train operated mechanism, a bed plate for supportinga trip lever adjacent a track rail, mating jaws fulcrumed upon each other at corresponding ends thereplate for clamping the plate to the of to coact at their opposite corresponding it ends with the rail and provided between the ends thereofwith means to coact withthe bed other at corresponding ends thereof to coact at their opposite corresponding ends with the rail and provided between the ends thereof with hooks to coact with the side flanges of the bed plate for binding the bed plate I against the rail as the latter ends of the jaws are swung toward each other, and means for adjustably swinging the latter ends of the jaws toward each other. 19. In mine door train operated mechanism, a bed plate for supporting a trip lever adjacent a track rail, coacting jaws straddling the bed plate to engage the rail at their upper ends and fulcrumed upon each other at their lower ends, said jaws being'provided between the ends thereof with portions to coact with the bed plate for binding the bed plate against the rail as the upper ends of the jaws are swung toward each other in engagement with the rail, and means extending between vided with teeth, and abearing blockpivot- I ally supporting the'outer end of the leverand adjustable along said inclined wall for elevating said end of the lever, the-bearing;

block beingprovided with teethcoacting with 

